Trout & Carp Fish Farms in Himachal Pradesh an Assessment Report
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Trout & Carp Fish farms in Himachal Pradesh An Assessment Report Preamble: Fish farms are the foundation stones of Fisheries development in Inland Fisheries Sector. The seed produced at these seed production centres is either used for replenishing the harvested fish stock of open waters i.e. rivers or reservoirs or is further reared under semi-controlled conditions in growing ponds and sold for table purposes. Our state is one of the state amongst a few in the Union of India which has been gifted by the mother nature with the rivers emanating from glaciers, which traverse through hilly terrains and finally enrich the semi-plain and plain areas of the state adjoining Punjab and Haryana. Himachal Pradesh has approximately 3000 kms of riverine length and four reservoirs namely Gobind sagar, Maharana Partap sagar, Pandoh and Chamera constructed on Satluj, Beas, and Ravi rivers respectively. The upper zones of rivers inhabit indigenous Schizothoracids, and exotic salmonids (trout) while the zones interspersing the semi-plain and plain areas are the abodes of Himalayan tiger- the mighty mahseer, Indian Major Carps and the much sought after catfishes such as Singhara (Mystus seenghala) Malhee (Wallago attu) and Soal (Channa species). Keeping in view the variegated nature of water resources the Government of Himachal Pradesh through its department of Fisheries has setup two types of fish seed farms- Coldwater or Trout fish seed farms and warm water or Carp seed farms. The mandate of these farms till recently was to produce the seed of trout and carps and stock it in rivers and reservoirs with an aim of replenishing the harvested stocks from these water bodies. With the advancement in fish farming it has been now possible to produce fish for human consumption at these farms and thus making them revenue-earning centres. There are in all 12 fish seed farms under the control of Himachal Pradesh Fisheries Department out of which 6 are trout farms and another 6 are carp farms. These are as under: Trout farms 1. Patlikuhl (Kullu); 2. Barot (Mandi); 3. Holi (Chamba); 4. Dhamwari (Shimla); 5. Sangla (Kinnaur). Carp farms: 1. Deoli (Bilaspur); 2. Alsu (Mandi) 3. Kangra (Kangra); 4. Sultanpur (Chamba); The carp farms at Gagret and Nalagarh have been leased out to private entrepreneurs for fish and seed production. Status of trout fish farms: The present status of trout farms in terms of fish and fish seed production their development and future prospective is as under: 1. Patlikuhl: ESTD. 1909 This farm is situated at National Highway-21 between Kullu and Manali on 26.4 bighas of land. The farm has following infrastructure: a) Raceways = 14 [13 (15x2x1.5m) and 4 (45X2.8X1.5)] b) Hatcheries = (Bathar and Patlikuhl) c) Office Building = 1 d) Feed mill = 1 e) Staff residences = 14 Availability of water: The water to this farm is being drawn through H.D.P. pipes from a perennial tributary of river Beas named as Sujan or Sanjoin nala. The quantum of water available is sufficient for the available raceways. Hatchery at Patlikuhl is under renovation and is being provided assured water supply system. Capacity of farm, hatchery, feed mill and extent of utilization: Fish farm: The fish farm has a fish production capacity of 10 tonnes and the production level attained during previous years has been over and above the capacity. Bathar Hatchery: ESTD 1996 This hatchery is located at a distance of about 5 km from Patlikuhl. It has an ova incubation capacity of 2,00,000 but the rearing space available for the hatchlings is hardly sufficient. With utmost care about 60,000-70,000 hatchlings can only be reared up to 1 g size. The capacity utilization in the past has been over and above the capacity. Patlikuhl Hatchery: This hatchery has 8 nursery tanks of size2x2x0.5m made of fiberglass. Feed mill: The feed mill is catering the feed requirements of trout farms functioning under the department as well as farms in the private sector. The mill has a production capacity of 300 kg per hour. The annual production of feed is approximately 50 tonnes. Staff Position: The sanctioned staff strength as well as staff in position at Patlikuhl office is as under: # Name of post (s) Sanctioned Staff in strength position 1. Deputy Director 1 1 2. Senior Fisheries Officer 1 1 3. Fisheries Officer 1 - 4. Sub Inspector Fisheries 1 1 5. Superintendent-G-II 1 1 6. Clerk 3 3 7. Stenographer 1 - 8. Farm Assistant 2 - 9. Feed mill Mechanic 1 1 10. Field Assistant/ Fishermen/Pump opp. 10 10 11. Chowkidar/Peon 2 2 12. Driver 1 1 Building: Patlikuhl: 2. Office 1 3. Feed-mill ingredient stores 3 4. Hatchery 1 5. Laboratory 1 6. Staff quarters type-1= 7, type-II 4 7. Type-iii 2 8. Type-iv 1 9. Store 1 Bathar 1. Hatchery 1 2. Type-I 1 3. Type-II 1 4. Store 5. Scope for the expansion of activities: • Re-construction of hatchery at Patlikuhl; • Expansion of hatchery building and inside infrastructure at Bathar; • Upgradation of fish feed mill; • Construction of Angling lake at Patlikuhl; • Fish buyers face difficulty in the procurement of ice, as there is a small ice plant at Kullu in the entire district. A small ice plant is proposed to be set up in the farm complex. 3. Barot Trout Farm: ESTD. 1959 This farm is situated on the left banks of Uhl and Lambadug rivers near the barrage of Shanon Hydro-electric power project at Barot in Jogindernagar tehsil of Mandi district. The farm has following infrastructure: • Water storage tank 1 (7.6x4.9x1.78m) • Fish ponds 3 (7.6x2.4x1.9m) • Raceways 2 (15x2x4.5m) • Hatchery 1 • Office-cum-residence of FO 1 • Type-I residence 6 Staff Position • Fisheries Officer 1 • Farm Asstt. - • Fishermen/Field Assistant 4+3* (*for Uhl river) • Chowkidar 1 Water availability The farm had a problem of inadequate water supply. The two old water supply systems are under renovation while a new water supply system from lambadug river with 150 lps capacity has been setup at the farm. Farm: In absence of dependable water supply the farm was hardly able to be assigned any fish production capacity. Even maintenance of brood fish difficult with the augmentation of water supply it’s fish production capacity has been increased to 5 t/ annum. Hatchery: Hatchery has 6 incubation troughs with 4 trays with utmost care it may only be possible to incubate about 1,20,000-, 1,30,000 eggs here. There are six start feed tanks capable of holding about 1,00,000 hatchlings. Scope of expansion: The farm has a scope for expansion in it’s fish & fish seed production capacity by 5 t and 1 lakhs ova respectively. 4. HOLI Trout Farm: ESTD. 2000 This farm has been constructed in Bharamaur tribal area at Holi in Chamba district to facilitate the propagation of trout in open waters of Ravi and its tributaries besides initiation of trout farming in rural areas for the generation of employment avenues to the tribal people. The farm has a land area of 6 bighas. Water availability: Water for the farm is being drawn from two sources: a) spring source and from Kee-nala from a distance of about 2 km from the farm. The spring source provides approximately one lit/sec water while the pipeline from nala brings about 50lt/sec. Infrastructure available at the farm: • Raceways 4 (15x2x1m) • Nurseries 10 • Hatchery 1 • FO staff/residence 1 • Type-I 2 • Type-II 1 Capacity of farm, Hatchery and its utilization level attained: Farm: By making improvements in the water supply system the farm has now 2 tonnes fish production capacity. Nurseries: Ten number cement concrete nurseries have been constructed at the farm. 40,000 trout fingerlings can be reared here up to 5 g size. Hatchery: The hatchery has 6 incubation troughs with three trays each. As such it is possible to incubate about 1,00,000 trout ova in the hatchery. Staff Position: • Fisheries Officer 1 • Sub Inspector 1 • Field assistant 3 • Chowkidar 1 Scope for expansion of activities: The quantum of water available is a limiting factor for the expansion in activities at the farm; spring source has 1lt/sec of water. Water supply system from Kee nala is approximately of 2 km length and interspersed with landslide prone areas. 6. Trout Farm Dhamwari: ESTD. 2005 This farm is located on 0.6 ha land in Rohru tehsil of Shimla district at Dhamwari. The farm has been recently constructed. Water availability: Water to the farm is being drawn from Khanyara khad at the rate of 150lt/sec through G.I. pipe. There is hardly any shortage of water to the farm and if needed the quantum of water being drawn can be increased by laying an additional pipe line. Infrastructure available at the farm: • Raceways 11 (3) (15x2.17x1.5m) (8) (15x2x4.5m) • Hatchery building 1 (Containing 4 start feed tanks, two nursery tanks and 6 hatching troughs with 24 trays) • Office Building 1 • Type II residence 2 • Type-I Residence 2 Capacity of the farm and hatchery and it’s utilization level: Farm: The construction works at the farm are rearing completion. It shall have a fish production capacity of 5 tonnes. Hatchery: The hatchery has an installed capacity of 1 lakhs ova & 50000 fingerlings. Staff Position: • Fisheries Officer 1 • Field Assistant 2 • Fishermen 3 • Chowkidar 1 6. Trout Farm Sangla ESTD. 1965 Kinnaur district has a small trout farm at Sangla in on the left bank of river Baspa.